Set fifteen years after Jaden's graduation, this story follows the high school life of Mikey Angel, a young beginner who's just starting his life at Duel Academy. New heroes! New stories! Same old card games! A collaboration with Comic Master Alpha.

It was nearing the end of summer vacation and Michael "Mikey" Angel wasn't all too pleased. It wasn't because that summer was nearly over and he would be returning to school. Rather, it was who he would be going back to school with. Being fifteen years old, this autumn meant he would be entering high school. And if any of his classmates from junior high were going to the same school as him, he knew he would be doomed for another three years of torment. Mikey wasn't what one would call a "popular kid". Ever since elementary school, he had always been a social outcast. He mostly kept to himself and maintained a very small circle of friends. And even at the age of fifteen, despite the fact that his voice had already deepened, he was still a little bit underdeveloped compared to other boys his age.

On this particular day, Mikey was sitting at his desk enjoying a popsicle he had gotten himself from the refrigerator. He wore a pair of loose-fitting blue shorts and a white T-shirt as he leaned back in his chair staring up at the ceiling. As he sucked on his frozen treat while running a hand through his short spiky brown hair, his cobalt eyes wandered toward the open window in front of him and he got a glimpse through the window of the house next door. Past the curtains, he could see a blonde girl the same age as him with her hair tied into two Gothic Lolita pigtails. Her name was Samantha Korangar, but was known as Sammie by all her friends. Mikey had admired her from afar ever since they first met, but he never had the courage to walk right up and talk to her. He sighed and leaned forward. He grabbed a pencil and opened up the sketchbook he had on his desk. It was filled with all sorts of drawings of Sammie, several of which also included Mikey himself. Another sketchbook laid open on the side of the desk near his computer monitor. Its contents were completely different from the one he was drawing in at that moment; that one in particular was filled with sketches of various monsters and weapons, namely Duel Monsters.

"Mikey, it's almost time for bed!"

"Okay, mom!" Mikey called back. He finished his popsicle and closed his sketchbook before heading downstairs to throw away the stick. After brushing his teeth, he returned to his room and went to bed. As he lay there staring up at the ceiling, he couldn't shake the feeling that his life was about to suddenly change drastically.

ooo

The next morning, Mikey was eating breakfast when the doorbell rang. His mom went to answer it as he and his younger brother Gabriel fought over the last piece of toast.

"Mikey, it's Sammie!" Immediately, Mikey scooted his chair closer to the table as the blonde girl entered the kitchen wearing blue jeans, white shoes, and a black blouse with white frills. She was holding an envelope in her hands.

"Morning, Mikey!" she greeted cheerfully, "Guess what?"

"Umm... What?" asked Mikey.

"You know I applied to Duel Academy this year, right? Well, I just got accepted!" Sammie answered. Mikey blinked. He had heard of Duel Academy, but it never crossed his mind that anyone he knew would ever actually go.

"You should come, too!" Sammie suddenly said.

"Sammie, I don't play Duel Monsters, remember?" replied Mikey, "I just collect the cards. Besides, I never even applied."

"You don't have to," said Sammie, "All you need to do is pass the entrance exam."

"Entrance exam?"

"Yeah, they begin today and end tomorrow night. Come on, Mikey! You should come!"

"Sammie, I told you. I don't play. Heck, I don't even have enough cards to build my own deck."

"Then we'll just have to go out and buy you your own deck!" Now Mikey was truly confused.

"Mom? Help me here? Gabe?"

"I think you should at least give it a try," said Mrs. Angel, "After all, I've heard that Duel Academy is not only a school of card games, but it also excels in other aspects. Despite its original intent, it's become one of the top elite schools in the world." Mikey still wasn't convinced.

"Lemme put it this way, Mikey," Gabriel interjected with a big grin, "If you go, you won't have to put up with the guys who stripped you naked and shoved you into the girl's locker room in junior high." Mikey immediately buried his blushing face in his arms against the table as Sammie giggled at his embarrassment.

"Come on, Mikey. At least take the entrance exam," she said. Mikey took this moment to weigh his options. Finally, he managed to bring himself to sit up.

"Alright, I'll give it a shot. Just let me get dressed first."

A few minutes later, Mikey was out the door in blue jeans, a maroon tank top, and his bright orange sneakers. He and Sammie went to a local card shop and looked around.

"There they are," she said as she pointed to a shelf behind the counter. Mikey looked and saw several booster sets as well as starter decks and structure decks beside them. Until now, he had only ever purchased the booster packs, but he never had enough money to buy even a single starter.

"No, Sammie! Please, I don't want you to have to go to all that trouble."

"Mikey, stop trying to put it off. You're going to have to face up to it sooner or later."

"But I..."

"Get a deck or I swear that you will be in a scrotal cast for two weeks," Sammie threatened, her voice growing darker and deeper ever so slightly as she gave him a glare that would frighten even the bravest men in the world. Mikey gulped and immediately pointed to a random deck on the shelf.

"I'll take that one!" he quickly told the clerk.

"Glad to see you went for it!" Sammie said cheerfully. Once they had bought the deck, Mikey opened the box lest Sammie threaten him again and examined the cards.

"Okay, so now what?" he asked.

"We go take the entrance exam!" declared Sammie and off she went dragging Mikey by his bare arm. After an hour's bus ride, the pair of them finally arrived where the entrance exams were being held.

"Sammie, if you've already been accepted then why are you even here?" asked Mikey as they stood in the registration line.

"Well they still need to assess me to see which dorm I should be in," was the answer. Once the pair was registered they entered the building. Immediately, Mikey was completely amazed by what he saw. Card games were being played left, right, and center. Giant holograms filled the entire area with humans standing behind them wearing devices on their arms.

"Well done on your exam, Mr. Reproba," Mikey heard someone say. He turned and saw a boy about his age with spiky black hair and blue eyes in jeans and a muscle shirt receive a clear plastic bag containing a yellow jacket.

"Thank you."

"I don't know if I even belong here," Mikey said to himself, "Hey Sammie..." He turned to his friend, but found her nowhere to be found.

"Hey, where'd you go?" His answer came at the sound of a loud explosion. The fifteen-year-old brunet turned around to face the noise just in time to see the hologram of a woman with long white hair wearing a crimson and black dress disappear. Below the spot it had once floated he could see Sammie deactivating her Duel Disk.

"Michael Angel, please proceed to arena four for your exam!" a voice over the speakers called out.

"Where's arena four?" Mikey asked out loud. The boy who had just gotten his Yellow jacket overheard him and walked over to him.

"It's that one over there," he said pointing to one of the unused duel arenas, "You can get there by taking the stairs down to the bottom most floor and then following the signs."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Without wasting another moment, Mikey ran down the stairs and followed the signs that directed him to duel arena four. Upon entering, he was outfitted with a Duel Disk. It was clearly Kaiba Corp's newest model. In its deactivated form, it looked little more than just the part that held the deck and graveyard with a very slight protrusion on the outer side.

I can't do this, thought Mikey. A loud explosion erupted from the arena next door and he turned around to see a giant black dragon just as it finished its attack.

"Michael Angel?" a new voice asked. The examiner had arrived and Mikey turned around to face her.

"Uh, that's me."

"Well, let's get started." The woman Mikey was about to duel wore a blue coat and had light brown hair, "You look a little lost."

"Well, truth is... This is my first time actually dueling," Mikey confessed.

"I see. Well I think I should tell you right now that there are certain cards that you can't play. You see, these new Duel Disks Kaiba Corp. has recently released have all the ban rules programmed into them." The young teenager gulped. He hadn't read up on the ban rules yet, so he was scared about the contents of his deck and whether or not which ones were playable.

"Well don't worry about a thing, Michael," the examiner reassured him, "But even if this is the first time you've ever dueled, don't think I'm going to go easy on you."

"Um, can I ask what your name?" asked Mikey.

"Oops! I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself," the woman apologized," You can call me Miss Marina. I'm the girls' physical education teacher and the head of the Obelisk Blue girls' dorm."

"I see." Mikey shook his head to get rid of any possible images out of his mind and tried to focus.

"So let's duel," said Miss Marina. The slight protrusion on the side of her Duel Disk slid outward and two wings shot out from both sides of it, creating card zones.

"Where's the power button on this thing?" asked Mikey.

"Underside behind your hand."

"Oh, I see it now." Mikey switched on his Duel Disk and readied himself with his first five cards.

--

Mikey: 4000

Miss Marina: 4000

--

"You can go first," offered Miss Marina.

"Um, sure." Mikey drew his first card and then looked at the cards he had available to him, "I summon Masaki the Legendary Swordsman in attack mode." He placed his first card in a monster zone and called forth a samurai in green armor. (ATK/1100 DEF/1100)

"That ends my turn," he concluded.

"You really are a beginner," noted Miss Marina as she drew her first card, "I summon Amphibious Bugroth MK-3 in attack mode." She placed a card onto her own Duel Disk and summoned an insectoid machine with what appeared to be two torpedo pods on its back. (ATK/1500 DEF/1300)

"Amphibious Bugroth MK-3, attack his monster!" she ordered. The torpedo pods opened up and two projectiles shot out and struck Masaki, the samurai letting out a horrendous scream and disappearing in a cloud of smoke and pixels.

--

Mikey: 3800

Miss Marina: 4000

--

"Next I'll set two cards facedown and end my turn," Miss Marina concluded.

Mikey nodded and drew his card. After a short analysis of his current hand, he summoned Dragon Zombie. (ATK/1600 DEF/0) Once the undead dragon was on the field, he ordered it to attack Amphibious Bugroth MK-3. His offense succeeded as the machine was destroyed.

--

Mikey: 3800

Miss Marina: 3900

--

I better set a card down just in case she tries something else, thought Mikey. He selected a Trap Card and set it facedown on the field before ending his turn. Now it was back to Miss Marina.

"Okay, Michael. I begin by removing my Amphibious Bugroth MK-3 from play allowing me to Special Summon Aqua Spirit." Taking the card out of her graveyard and placing it in her pocket, she then drew a card from her hand and summoned a young girl with blue skin that innocently smiled. (ATK/1600 DEF/1200)

"Next I activate the Field Spell Card Umi." A hidden tray slid out from Miss Marina's Duel Disk and she placed her card in it before it closed. A hologram of the card appeared to the side of her field and the entire arena was suddenly flooded. Mikey was very surprised to suddenly find himself waist-deep in water.

"Now since my Aqua Spirit is an Aqua type, she gets a boost of two hundred attack points, raising her total attack power to 1800. Aqua Spirit, attack his Dragon Zombie. Spirit Cascade!" Water gushed out of Aqua Spirit's veil and poured toward Dragon Zombie. The creature was washed away and destroyed.

--

Mikey: 3600

Miss Marina: 3900

--

"I'll end it right there for now," announced Miss Marina.

How can be she so calm when we're standing waist-deep in water? Mikey wondered, Okay, Mikey. Get a grip on yourself. Her water card is what boosts her monster's attack points. If I can get rid of it, then I should be able to take out her monster. He drew his next card and looked at it before reading the text.

"This will work. I play the Spell card De-Spell and I'll use it to destroy your Umi." The Umi hologram shattered and the water suddenly vanished, much to Mikey's relief.

"Hey! How come I'm still dry?" he asked.

"Every card we play is just projected as a hologram," explained Miss Marina, "But I do have to admit, some of these holograms can look a little too realistic. Anyway, have you got anything else in your move?"

"I play Sword of Deep-Seated and I'll equip it to my Battle Ox, boosting its attack and defense points by five hundred." A purple broad sword appeared and Mikey watched as his Battle Ox discarded its axe with a grunt and picked up the new weapon with enthusiasm.

Well he definitely understands how different Spell cards work, thought Miss Marina.

Why am I getting the feeling that she likes me? Mikey asked himself mentally.

"First, I'll discard my Warrior of Atlantis to use its effect," announced Miss Marina, "letting me bring the card A Legendary Ocean to my hand. And now I play A Legendary Ocean!" Mikey could barely let out a yelp as the entire duel arena was completely submerged and immediately shut his eyes and mouth.

"You're really not used to dueling, are you?" asked Miss Marina, "It's okay, Mikey. It's only a hologram. You're not going to drown." Mikey slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was standing on the bottom of the ocean surrounded by ancient ruins.

"This is really weird." Even though the ocean was just a hologram, it still seemed very real. He could even feel his hair and clothes move as if he were truly underwater.

"Now listen carefully, Mikey," said Miss Marina as she began to explain the card's effect, "A Legendary Ocean boosts all Water monsters by two hundred attack and defense points. In addition, it also downgrades all Water monsters in both players' hands by one level. Basically, five-star Water monsters can now be played as four-star monsters and seven-star Water monsters can be played as six-star creatures."

"And I take it these means you're going to use that ability right now?" asked Mikey.

"That's right," replied Miss Marina as she took a card from her hand and placed it onto her Duel Disk, "I summon Terrorking Salmon." A giant fish appeared. (ATK/2400 DEF/1000) Immediately, its stats were boosted by two hundred points.

"Terrorking Salmon, attack his Battle Ox!" Terrorking Salmon started swimming toward Battle Ox. At first nothing seemed particularly threatening about the attack animation until an entire school of evil salmon suddenly appeared and overran the bovine beast-warrior, ripping him to shreds with their razor sharp teeth.

--

Mikey: 3200

Miss Marina: 3300

--

And by the effect of Sword of Deep-Seated, Mikey returned the card to the top of his deck.

"That's my move for now."

Mikey drew his Sword of Deep-Seated back into his hand and took a moment to think. There was nothing he could do at the moment, so he decided the best thing to do was to play something defensive in the meantime. In the end, he set a card facedown and set a monster in defense mode before concluding his turn. Then it was back to Miss Marina who summoned a Mermaid Knight. (ATK/1500 DEF/700)

"And since A Legendary Ocean is treated as Umi, my Mermaid Knight can attack twice." she declared, "But first I'm going to take care of that monster. Terrorking Salmon, attack!" Upon attacking, the card was flipped face-up to reveal it to be an Aqua Madoor. (ATK/1200 DEF/2000)

"I activate my Trap Card, Castle Walls," announced Mikey, "boosting Aqua Madoor's defense by five hundred points along with the two hundred it gets from A Legendary Ocean." Terrorking Salmon was stopped and bounced back, causing its owner to take damage.

--

Mikey: 3200

Miss Marina: 3200

--

"That was an impressive move for a beginner like you," commented Miss Marina, "I end my turn."

Please let my next card be something I can use, he thought as he drew. When he saw what he got, he smiled.

"I play Lightning Vortex. Now by sending one card from my hand to the graveyard, I can destroy all your face-up monsters." Immediately, bolts of lightning shot down and obliterated Miss Marina's monsters.

"You've left yourself wide open," said the girls' PE teacher as she drew her next card upon the start of her turn, "First I summon Unshaven Angler in attack mode." A very ugly fish appeared on her side of the field. (ATK/1500 DEF/1600)

"Next I activate my facedown card Big Wave Small Wave. Now I first destroy all Water monsters on my field; in this case, my Unshaven Angler. But in doing so I can Special Summon any number of Water monsters from my hand equal the number that destroyed by my Spell. So I'd like to introduce you to Levia-Dragon – Daedalus!" Unshaven Angler exploded and in its place rose up a mighty blue water dragon. (ATK/2600 DEF/1500)

"Levia-Dragon – Daedalus, attack his Life Points directly! Wrath of the Sea!" Levia-Dragon – Daedalus opened its mouth and prepared to unleash a powerful blast from its maw.

"You've managed to buy yourself some time, Mikey. Hopefully, you'll manage to draw something that could save you."

Here's hoping, thought Mikey. He drew his next card and his eyes lit up when he read the text.

"I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"Too bad that's all you can really do now that you're top-decking," replied Miss Marina as she drew her next card, "However, I'm willing to give you a leg up. I play Upstart Goblin. This lets me draw one card from my deck and gives you one thousand Life Points.

--

Mikey: 4200

Miss Marina: 3200

--

Once Mikey's Life Points were up, Miss Marina drew her card as per the effect of Upstart Goblin.

"But don't think that means whatever you have facedown will be able to stop my next move monster. I activate Levia-Dragon – Daedalus' effect. By sending Umi to the graveyard, I can destroy every card on the field except for Daedalus. And since A Legendary Ocean is treated as Umi, I can sacrifice that instead." The ocean floor split wide open and the ruins collapsed as Levia-Dragon – Daedalus sucked in all the water through its mouth until the field had returned to normal. Then it unleashed a massive torrent that hit the entire duel arena. Mikey watched helplessly as all the cards on the field were destroyed.

"Not sure how much that's going to help me right now," Mikey muttered as he drew, "I can't do anything this turn, so I pass."

"Then it's my turn again." Miss Marina swiftly drew her card and examined it, "I'll set this card facedown and remove my Mermaid Knight in my graveyard from play to Special Summon another Aqua Spirit in defense mode. That's it for this turn."

Huh. Why'd she play it in defense instead of attack when I clearly have nothing to defend with? Heck, why not attack with Daedalus? Did she forget? Mikey wondered, She said she wasn't going to go easy on me, but then again she DID give me that Life Point boost. Shrugging it off for the time being, he drew his next card.

"Now I activate my facedown card: Spiritual Water Art – Aoi," Miss Marina declared, "Now by sacrificing one Water monster from my field, I can send one card from your hand to the graveyard." She destroyed her Aqua Spirit and then activated a laser pointer on her Duel Disk, which she used to point to the card on Mikey's left when the boy showed her his hand. He placed it into his graveyard.

"You can continue with your turn now."

Mikey set the card he had facedown and ended his turn. When Miss Marina drew, she withheld her attack and passed, allowing Mikey to draw again.

"I should thank you for what you did last turn, Miss Marina," said Mikey, "You sent a monster to my graveyard that I couldn't summon because it was too high a level. But now I can thanks to the other card in my hand. I play Premature Burial."

--

Mikey: 3600

Miss Marina: 3200

--

"And with it, I'm going to resurrect Tri-Horned Dragon." A giant blue dragon with three horns protruding from its head slowly rose up and let out a deafening roar. (ATK/2850 DEF/2350)

"I'm impressed, Mikey," Miss Marina complimented, "A lot of beginners don't realize that they can always summon powerful monsters from their graveyards even though they were never initially summoned in the first place."

"I never actually played the game before, but my little brother does," Mikey explained, "I used to watch him from time to time. Anyway, I believe it's my Battle Phase now. Tri-Horned Dragon, attack Levia-Dragon – Daedalus! Tri-Horned Charge!" Tri-Horned Dragon let out another roar and ran forward. It lowered its head as it approached and slammed hard into Levia-Dragon – Daedalus. The sea serpent hissed loudly as the horns impaled its body and it was promptly destroyed.

--

Mikey: 3600

Miss Marina: 2950

--

That boy claims he's never played before, but he's doing really well, thought Miss Marina, I should give him one more test. She drew her card and began her turn.

"I summon another Amphibious Bugroth MK-3. And next I play a second Legendary Ocean!" The duel arena was flooded a second time and Mikey found himself underwater again as soon as the card was played, "And since Legendary Ocean is on the field in place of Umi, Amphibious Bugroth MK-3 can attack you directly."

"I activate Waboku," Mikey said as he revealed his facedown card, "making your damage zero." He then drew upon his next Draw Phase and turned to his monster.

"I activate Tornado Wall!" announced Miss Marina. Tri-Horned Dragon successfully obliterated Amphibious Bugroth MK-3, but the teacher suffered no damage to her Life Points as a barrier of tornadoes came down in front of her.

"As long as Umi or Legendary Ocean remains on the field, my Tornado Wall protects my Life Points from battle damage," she explained.

"I think it's time we ended this entrance exam," she said, "I play my own Premature Burial."

--

Mikey: 3600

Miss Marina: 2150

--

"And with it I'll resurrect my Levia-Dragon – Daedalus!" A erupted in front of her and her sea monster returned to the field, "But I'm not going to use him just yet; because, now I sacrifice my Levia-Dragon – Daedalus in order to summon his more powerful form. Say hello to Ocean Dragon Lord – Neo-Daedalus!" Her monster disappeared from the field and with an explosion of magnificent power, a larger and uglier two-headed version of the last one appeared, letting out a roar so great that it shook the entire ocean. (ATK/2900 DEF/1600)

"And by sending Umi to the graveyard, I can use its effect to destroy all cards on the field AND in our hands except for itself!" Tornado Wall was destroyed and the entire ocean was once again obliterated as the mighty sea dragon absorbed all the water.

"Maelstrom of Malice!" Ocean Dragon Lord – Neo-Daedalus opened its mouths and unleashed all the water it had just finished drinking up, filling the entire duel arena once again and creating a massive whirlpool that swallowed everything up.

"Crap! My card!" Mikey was devastated as the card in his hand was removed and sent to his graveyard, but then turned his attention to the field as his monster was also destroyed, "Tri-Horned Dragon!"

"And now, Ocean Dragon Lord – Neo-Daedalus, attack Mikey's Life Points directly!" ordered Miss Marina, "River of Power!" Ocean Dragon Lord – Neo-Daedalus opened its mouths once again and charged up energy in the back of each throat before unleashing a pair of deadly blue laser beams that hit Mikey with maximum force.

--

Mikey: 700

Miss Marina: 2150

--

"That's it for now," declared Miss Marina, "It's your move."

There's no way I can beat that thing, thought Mikey as he dropped to his knees, Her deck is just too powerful compared to mine. Hers is a fully functional one with a theme. Mine is just a starter deck. No one could win with mine. I should probably just give up.

"Mikey! Don't you even dare think about giving up!" a voice called out. Mikey looked up toward his left and saw Sammie standing there.

"Sammie?"

"I know things don't look that great right now, Mikey, but I won't let you surrender the duel! It's no over until the last card is drawn!"

"But I have no chance of winning," Mikey began to plead.

"That's not true. Everybody can win! They just need the right cards and I'm sure that somewhere in that deck of yours is a card that'll help you win. So don't you dare give up or else I'll kick your ass!"

"You really think I could beat that giant sea dragon?"

"Yes!"

"Well, if you're THAT confident in me, I guess I'm willing to continue." Mikey stood back up and drew his card, "I set one card facedown and end my turn."

"That girl has a lot of confidence in you," said Miss Marina as she drew, "Is she your girlfriend?" Mikey immediately began to blush.

"WHAT? NO! We're just neighbors. And really good friend since childhood!" Mikey stammered.

"I see. Well anyway, Ocean Dragon Lord, attack him again!"

"I activate Call of the Haunted!" Mikey revealed his facedown card, "And I'll use it to bring back Tri-Horned Dragon."

It's the best I can do right now, he thought. His monster reappeared on the field but it was not destined to remain as his opponent's creature annihilated it with one blast.

--

Mikey: 650

Miss Marina: 2150

--

And with that attack, Miss Marina ended her turn. Mikey gulped as he looked at his deck and drew another card. He placed it on the field in facedown defense mode and concluded his turn. And with that, Miss Marina drew her next card. She immediately added it to her hand and ordered her monster to attack. Mikey's card was flipped face-up, revealing it to be Skelengel. And due to its flip effect, the boy was able to draw a card enabling him to somewhat replenish his hand. She finished up with another Upstart Goblin to add another card to her hand and then ended her turn.

--

Mikey: 1650

Miss Marina: 2150

--

"This better work," he whispered as he drew. He gasped when he saw the card he received. Taking the two cards he had in his hand, he set one in one of his monster zones and the other in one of his Magic/Trap zones before concluding his turn. Miss Marina then drew.

"It looks like I'm end this right now, Mikey," she announced, "First, I discard another Warrior of Atlantis to bring A Legendary Ocean to my hand." After sending the monster to her graveyard, she searched her deck for the field card and added it to her hand before shuffling her deck.

"Now I play my field card." Putting the card inside her field tray once again, the duel arena was submerged a third time in water, "And now to use my monster's effect by destroying A Legendary Ocean."

"Not going to happen!" Mikey then revealed his facedown Trap Card, "Miss Marina, I have to thank you for those one thousand Life Points you gave me. Otherwise this wouldn't have worked. I activate Skill Drain. Now by reducing my Life Points by that one thousand, I negate your Ocean Dragon Lord's effect."

--

Mikey: 650

Miss Marina: 2150

--

"It's not going to stay on the field for much longer, I'm afraid," said Miss Marina, "Although I really don't have any desire to wipe out my own card either, this is the only way to end it quickly. I play Heavy Storm!" Once her card hit her Duel Disk, Skill Drain and A Legendary Ocean were both destroyed.

"Despite this, I can still win with just my monster's attack. I play Stop Defense, switching your facedown monster into attack mode." Mikey's card was flipped up and the hologram revealed a small head.

"No, wait! Is that what I think it is?"

"This is Hane-Hane," Mikey explained, "And once it's flipped face up, I can send one monster on the field back to its owner's hand. And I think the obvious choice here is your Ocean Dragon Lord – Neo-Daedalus." Ocean Dragon Lord – Neo-Daedalus roared as its body vanished and the card was returned to Miss Marina's hand.

"Now I believe it's my turn." Mikey drew his final card, "I sacrifice Hane-Hane so I can summon Cyber-Tech Alligator!" His weaker monster vanished and he brought forth a giant winged half-machine reptile to the field. (ATK/2500 DEF/1600)

"Cyber-Tech Alligator, go! Trident Arm!" Cyber-Tech Alligator roared and drew back its right arm before thrusting it forward and firing its mechanical claws at Miss Marina.

--

Mikey: 650

Miss Marina: 0

--

Mikey let out an enormous sigh of relief as he deactivated his Duel Disk and collapsed.

He won, but just barely, thought Miss Marina.

"Congratulations, Mikey," she said to him, "You passed."

Several minutes later, Mikey stepped forward to the table and received his bright red school jacket.

"You did it, Mikey!" Sammie cheered as she glomped him from behind.

"Yeah, I did," he replied quietly.

"Attention all new students!" a voice boomed out. Everybody turned to the stage where all of Duel Academy's top staff were assembled and the one speaking was the woman in the center.

"First of all, I'd like to congratulate all of you for successfully passing your entrance exams. These duels were based on evaluating your performance, so even though some of you may have lost you still passed. Now please listen carefully because this next part is very important. A week from today, the ship for Duel Academy will be taking off from the city's port at precisely nine o'clock AM. Make sure you get there on time or else you'll miss it. I wouldn't want any of you new students not to show up just because you missed the boat. So remember, a week from today at nine AM, the ship will leave! So make sure you get there early!" Once she was done speaking, she turned and walked away as the new students began cheering.

"Your speech has once again riled them up," a man with long black hair in a blue coat said to the woman.

"They're just excited about starting the school year, Trevor," she replied.

"Well they're sure to be in for a lot of surprises, Miss Rhodes." The Duel Academy Headmistress, Chancellor Alexis Rhodes, turned to him.

"Well let's make sure it's a pleasant one." She looked out into the crowd and looked straight at Mikey, who kept hugging his jacket trying to keep it away from an overexcited Sammie who, in turn, kept pulling at his shirt to get him to show it to her.